Bhubaneswar: Barsha, a two-day cultural event, organised by Odia Language, Culture and Literature in association with Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi and Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi at Rabindra Mandap, commenced here Tuesday.
Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda inaugurated the event in the presence of MLA Bijay Kumar Mohanty, Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, Odia Language, Culture and Literature department secretary Manoranjan Panigrahi, director Bijay Kunar Nayak and additional secretary Rama Krushna Sahoo.
The programme commenced with a classical song recital based on rain presented by Ramahari Das and accompanied by Dhaneswar Swain on madal, Ajay Dash on flute and Jawahar Mishra on harmonium. The singer regaled the audience with her mellifluous Odissi songs related to rain.
The next performance of the evening was an Odissi group dance which was presented by Gunjan Dance Academy, Cuttack. The performance choreographed by Meera Das showcased the rainy season. The music was composed by Ravi Shankar Pradhan and rhythm by Banamali Mahanrana.
The concluding performance of the evening was presented by Era Mohanty who sang various songs related to rain.
